


repressed memories

by empathetiic



Series: original character short stories [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Childhood Trauma, Gen, Original Character(s), Other, Unhealthy Relationships, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24460825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/empathetiic/pseuds/empathetiic
Summary: looking back into the past of two damaged siblings.
Series: original character short stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1760065





	repressed memories

**Author's Note:**

> hahahaha me? keep up with daily writing? that's funny. anyways this is gonna be a little more dark, so just a warning for anyone reading, hopefully the aforementioned tags are enough. just a lot of damaging things.
> 
> thanks for reading!

_Mom and dad were fighting again._

_Their voices could be heard from any direction of the house, despite the solid cement walls. It would happen like clockwork, through the eyes of the two siblings. They were powerless to prevent it from happening, only able to watch on in fear and distress as their father would hobble into their home in an obvious drunken stupor. Their mother knew it, too. They would see it when the door would slam shut and her shoulders would jump, anticipating the brunt of whatever argument was to come._

_It was always the same, they knew anything could set him off when he was so drunk. "Where's my dinner?" he would ask, or "Why aren't the kids doing their schoolwork?", and every time it would end the same. No one had an answer for him. Mom always knew when the explosion was coming, she would look at her kids, an expression etched of fear and guilt, tell them to go to their rooms and clean up their messes. Christopher always knew it, too. He was old enough to understand what was happening. Finnley was young still, only just turning 8._

_Each time Christopher would urge his younger sister off to his room, he would always be asked the same question: "Why is daddy so upset?"_

_He never knew how to answer her._

_All he could do was talk to her about school, play with her toys, anything he could do to distract her from asking about what was going on beyond his bedroom door. He became skilled in derailing his sister's train of thought to skirt around her questions, he only wished that she wouldn't ask with every glass shatter they heard outside. "Daddy's using really bad words," she would say. Christopher always made sure that she never repeated what their father said. He would do this every time an argument would break out between their parents._

_Like clockwork._

...

"You good, bro?"

Torn from his own mind, Christopher blinked away blurry vision, refocusing on the small cat staring back at him. His elbows hurt from resting on the dining table too long. 

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just lost in thought." He rubbed the corner of his eye, catching the wetness gathering before it spilled out. He wasn't sure if it was tears or his dry eyes, but he didn't want his sister to get the wrong message. "I thought you were gonna be at the shop later today?" He turned to Finn, who simply shrugged in response and sat down in an adjacent chair. "Nah, Dan sent me home. Wasn't anything for me to do. I guess people are learning how to take care of their cars better," she joked with a wink. 

"Well. I was gonna prep dinner later, but...you feelin' a restaurant for tonight, maybe?" Finn raised her eyebrows at his proposition, and hummed dismissively. "Whatever you wanna do. Maybe it's time for you to take a damn break from cooking every single day." She stuck her tongue out teasingly and he rolled his eyes, pushing back from the dining table and standing up. "Well, go get cleaned up, I can smell the motor oil wafting off of you." He pushed the chair in and turned to walk towards his room to get ready, only to be stopped when Finn grabbed his arm. 

"Chris..." The drag in her voice had him shrinking a bit, but he turned around anyways. "Are you _sure_ you're okay?" A meek smile crossed his features, and he relaxed with a small sigh. "I'm fine, I promise." She seemed unconvinced, mocking his sigh. "I'm not sappy, you know, but-" Finn's arms came around to Christopher's back, hands hooking on his shoulders and pulling him into a tight hug. She was a bit smaller than him, hiding her face in his neck. "I know you, Chris, and I know you're a terrible liar." Chris was stunned from the hug for too long, he didn't get a chance to return it properly before she let him go, arms falling back to her sides. "We can talk about it later," she began, stern expression softening as she patted his shoulder, "if you want."

As she walked off, Chris couldn't help but watch in disbelief, as if reality had crashed down on him again. He was so lost in his own mind, he forgot that part of their life has long since passed. Guilt crept in, but he shook it off before it could consume him, and smiled sheepishly to himself. 

Maybe one day he'll be able to give her a straight answer.

**Author's Note:**

> once again, this short includes my characters christopher (miles mcmillan) and finnley (erika linder), as well as introducing their parents, maren (ragan wallake) and marcus (justin gossman). again, i apologize for not being able to provide art for these characters, pardon my inept drawing skills. 
> 
> helpful criticism, comments and kudos are always appreciated!


End file.
